New Jersey Devils defenseman Mark Fayne missed a gaping net during his team’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, during Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2012.
Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images via the Los Angeles Kings

Less than 24 hours after they faced-off in Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, two similar teams were also very similar in their analysis of their performances the night before.

The New Jersey Devils pointed to a tentative start, and needing to raise their overall level of play.

“I think we’re going to have to find another level,” said Devils head coach Peter DeBoer. “I feel we have another level. I thought we came out a little tentative, as was expected for a Stanley Cup Final game. I thought we got better as the game went on. That’s a team you’ve got to play sixty minutes against.”

“[The Los Angeles Kings] were good,” added DeBoer. “They were off for a while. We knew they’d be good. I thought we were a little tentative early. Once we got comfortable, I thought we started to play better. We pushed in some spurts tonight, but not enough to have success against that team.” Read more of this post

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